


friends don't kiss me like you do

by ipretendtobesane



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Misunderstandings, bev knows all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 15:30:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ipretendtobesane/pseuds/ipretendtobesane
Summary: richie talks a lot.eddie accidentally kisses him in order to shut him up.





	friends don't kiss me like you do

They were all in the clubhouse, save for Beverly whose dad caught her sneaking out and didn’t let her leave. Ben and Bill were both moping, both wanting the redhead around so they could try to woo her. Eddie thought it was stupid. Sure, he loved Bev and she was one of his best friends but he didn’t see the appeal. She was gorgeous but she didn’t give him butterflies like he knows girls are supposed to. 

Eddie wasn’t moping. Eddie was on the hammock with Richie, poking his toe underneath his glasses and hitting his best friends face with his foot. Richie huffed when Eddie used his foot to remove the coke bottle glasses his best friend had to wear, the ones that made his eyes look saucers and made him always look a little excited and a little frightened all at the same time. 

“That’s it, I’m turning around.” 

Eddie flailed as Richie moved around the hammock, squealing in protest the entire time. 

Eventually, Richie managed to get himself situated beside Eddie, but there wasn’t enough space for both boys to be lying shoulder to shoulder with one another in such a small space. 

“This hurts. Get off. You’re too big to fit in here.” 

“That’s what your mom said last night,” Richie said with a triumphant smirk. Eddie just rolled his eyes, but he smiled up at Richie and that made the taller boys smirk morph into a grin, one Eddie knows is reserved just for him. One that he only sees when the other losers aren’t looking and they’re under the blanket that exists to protect them from prying eyes. 

Eddie’s heart thrums in his chest, blushing under Richie’s comically large eyes, his gaze piercing and warm. 

“Here, lay on my chest.” 

Eddie felt his face go red, the heat behind his cheeks was a pleasant feeling at this point, one that was brought out many times whenever he was around Richie Tozier. He used to hate it. He hated how his skin was pale to the point where his entire face lit up (granted, he wasn’t as pale as Richie, whose face would turn the color of Eddie’s little red shorts every time Eddie held his hand to lead him through the woods. He didn’t think Eddie realized, but Eddie knew). 

He didn’t hate it anymore. He doesn’t know why, doesn’t know why Richie makes him blush in the first place, really, but it’s not something that gets on his nerves anymore. 

So Eddie does as told. He situates himself on top of Richie’s chest, smiling contently when he feels gangly arms wrap around his torso. He brings up a hand and starts tracing patterns onto Richies chest. He doesn’t notice the hitch in Richie’s breath and the way the older boy’s heart starts racing. 

Eddie settles in, smiling when he hears Richie giggle from the way his hair is brushing against his neck. 

It doesn’t take long before Eddie is half asleep, safe and warm surrounded by his best friend. He vaguely registers Richie’s voice calling out for him, fingers running up and down his side trying to get Eddie to stay awake. 

Eddie leans up and kisses Richie so he stops bother him, mumbling a quiet  _ shut up, trashmouth _ , before collapsing back into his chest. 

He should appreciate the radio silence, but the room felt too still, like the earth had stopped spinning and all the oxygen in the atmosphere got sucked out all at the same time. 

Eddie sat up and looked at the stunned faces of his friends, Beverly standing by the staircase with a knowing smirk on her freckled face. He didn’t know what was wrong, he was just annoyed by Richie’s constant yapping and he wanted to sleep, so he kissed him and told him to shut up and  _ holy shit  _ he  _ kissed him _ . 

Eddie’s body immediately went rigid. He didn’t know what to do; his friends didn’t seem mad, at the very least, and Richie… 

Well, he didn’t know how to read him. 

His face was furiously red, an envy to fire trucks across the nation. He didn’t know if the red was from anger or embarrassment or  _ what,  _ but he didn’t look particularly happy. Eddie breathes out a chuckle, trying to laugh away the tears pooling in his eyes. 

He hops off the hammock and runs out of the clubhouse, ignoring the shocked stares from everyone. Bev was the only one who looked sympathetic, and maybe it’s because she has girl intuition, but he has a sinking feeling she’s known about Eddie’s feelings since before even he did. 

Because, here’s the thing- Eddie Kaspbrak did not like Richie Tozier. 

Richie was a  _ boy _ , and one of his best friends. Absolutely nothing more than that. He was too tall and lanky and if they were ever to kiss standing up Eddie would have to get on the tips of his toes and that’s just too much of a hassle. His hands were always too clammy and it didn’t matter that Eddie liked how their hands fit together whenever Richie held onto him during scary movies. It didn’t matter because Eddie couldn’t like him, and he didn’t like him. 

Except a part of him knew that wasn’t true. 

He knew no other fifteen year old would accidentally kiss their  _ boy  _ best friend and he knows if he wasn’t into boys in ways he shouldn’t be that he would have just laughed it off and made of Richie for turning so goddamn  _ red _ . 

Eddie wanted to kiss Richie (not so) deep down. He wanted to lay on his chest and have Richie card his fingers through his hair and call him Eds even though he insisted that he hated it. He wanted to make Richie laugh and to kiss him when he was being too obnoxious. He wanted the losers to tease them the way they all teased Ben and Bill around Beverly. 

He wanted Richie to kiss him back, really. 

He hated knowing he made the other boy uncomfortable, and it wasn’t until he had reached his house that he noticed he was crying. Serves him right.  _ At least mom’s not home _ , he thought to himself as he walked inside. 

+++

Richie didn’t know what to do or what to say. He knew all the losers eyes were glued to him with gorilla glue and scotch tape for good measure, and he knew he couldn’t avoid looking at them forever but goddamn if he wasn’t going to try. 

It was Beverly that broke the stiff silence. Laughing out a  _ finally  _ and walking over to give Richie a high five. 

“W-what?” He asked, more confused now than he was thirty seconds ago. 

“I’ve been waiting for you two to get together for ages. Where you just not going to tell us?” 

“Tell you  _ what?”  _

“That y-y-you’ve b-been dating E-Eddie,” Bill spoke up, looking anywhere but at Richie. 

“I’m not dating Eddie!” He exclaimed, hands flailing to try to get his point across. 

“No, of course not, that incredibly sweet kiss you two shared just so you would shut up was very platonic,” Stan spoke up. Richie gaped at him, he knew Stan always had a response to him jokes and snarky comments (not as good as Eddie’s but then again no one is as good as Eddie) but it was rare that he was sarcastic first. 

“He’s right, you can’t tell us you two aren’t hiding from us that you’re together,” Mike said. 

“But we’re  _ not!  _ If we were why would he storm out of here like he had just made the biggest mistake of his life! Why would he run away from me if we were together, huh?” He was pacing the room at this point, too much energy building up. He could feel the way the loser’s gazes turned from excited and questioning to sympathetic, and he hated feeling like he was being pitied. 

“You’re really not together?” He didn’t turn around to look, but he knew the voice belonged to Ben. He just shook his head. 

Beverly giggled, and then Mike joined in, and soon all five of his friends were laughing. 

“What’s so fucking funny?!” he said, turning around and facing them. They looked like deer caught in the headlights for a split second before they all started crying from laughter again. 

Richie crossed his arms over his chest indignantly, trying to ignore the desperate want to cry and run to Eddie. 

But he couldn’t run to Eddie, not right now at least, not when Eddie kissed him on accident and ran away after seeings Richie’s feelings plastered across all of his features. 

“Rich, man, you two are the most domestic couple I’ve ever seen. You fight like kindergartners with a crush but you’re always so gentle with each other. Every time something bad happens, you run to one another first, and don’t think we haven’t noticed you cuddling on the couch when we watch movies. We thought you were just waiting for the right time to come out to us.” Mike stood there, watching as Richie’s face contorted in confusion. 

“But I don’t like guys.” 

He was met with five deadpan stares. 

“M-maybe y-you don’t like a-a-all guys-” 

“But you like Eddie,” Stan interrupted. 

“Richie- he kissed  _ you _ , your feelings are reciprocated. Now go get your boy because he ran out of here crying, and he probably thinks you hate him, so even if you  _ don’t  _ like him, at least tell him you’ll still be his friend.” Bev said with all the wisdom of a sixteen year old girl. 

Richie scoffed- he’d be Eddie’s friend no matter  _ what _ . 

Mike winked at him, “go get your boy.” 

Richie smiled, whispering  _ my boy  _ under his breath. 

He climbed out of the clubhouse with a determined grin on his face. He was going to kiss Eddie  _ again _ , but this time they were both gonna be awake for it. 

+++ 

Eddie was laying on the floor of his room staring blankly at the ceiling, watching his fan spin. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths every time he remembered what happened, but for the most part, he was fine. 

He was so lost in his own thought process that he didn’t even register someone tapping on his window until he felt the walls rattling with their knocks. 

Rattling was an exaggeration, but Eddie was feeling fragile and like his life was made of paper and he didn’t want to talk to anyone. 

Especially not Richie, who was the only person that didn’t use the front door when getting into Eddie’s house.

“Open up Eds!” The sound was muffled by the wall between them, but Eddie heard him well enough anyways. He walked to the window and pushed it up to open it. 

“Don’t call me that. And go away. I don’t want to talk to you.” 

“Eddie. Please?” His eyes were wide and genuine, like a baby when it wants more mushy baby food and doesn’t know how to ask for it yet. There’s pleading in his look, and Eddie has always been weak when it comes to Richie. 

He huffs. “Fine.” 

They stand in Eddie’s room awkwardly, neither one looking at the other.  _ If this were a movie,  _ Eddie thinks,  _ he would’ve kissed me.  _

He scolds himself for thinking that way, there is absolutely no reason why Richie would do that. No evidence to support that thought whatsoever. 

He wishes he could say something, he hates the awkwardness and he hates when Richie is quiet. As much as he complains about it, it’s one of his favorite things, Richie’s annoying rambles and the way he laughs at his own jokes. 

The boy in question clears his throat, like there’s a question,  _ something _ , stuck in there that he doesn’t know how to get out. 

“Why- why did you kiss me?” 

Eddie goes white. He doesn’t know what to say.  _ Because I like you, dickwad,  _ doesn’t seem the most intelligent. 

But Eddie’s never had the most common sense when it comes to feelings. So when Richie presses again, he explodes. 

“Because I like you, dickwad! Because I wanted to, okay? I wanted to kiss and I want to fucking kiss you all the time and it’s infuriating because I’m not supposed to like you like this and now you  _ hate me  _ and-” he was stopped by Richie cupping his face and leaning in so quickly Eddie didn’t notice until their lips were touching. Richie pulled away after a quick beat, smiling so wide Eddie thought his face might rip in half. 

“Figured it was payback for shutting me up earlier,” he said with a satisfied grin. 

“Shut up.” 

“What’s in it for me?” 

Eddie just smiled and leaned up, connecting their lips again. 

And again, and again, and again. 

**Author's Note:**

> wassup this is my first fic for this fandom i hope u liked it it's a short fluffy thing but its what i was in the mood for. might add a coming out to the losers epilogue or smth who knows
> 
> anyway im on twitter @edstozierr 
> 
> leave a kudos and a comment in u liked it xoxo


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